China's high-tech snack shops face a sizzling problem

China’s adoption of unmanned convenience stores, where customers
use their mobile phones to scan barcodes and pay for items
themselves, has hit a glitch – high summer heat has melted some
of the snacks inside.

Two of the stores operating in Shanghai were forced to close
temporarily as a result of poor air conditioning.

One is operated by technology start-up BingoBox, and opened
last month near the China headquarters of French retailer
­Auchan, which supplies the hundreds of products offered.
Some customers had complained that cakes were misshapen and
chocolate had melted. A company ­employee said the store
would reopen soon after "improvements."

BingoBox opened the Shanghai store after months of testing
the system in its home province of Guangdong. The second one
followed just a week later, also in Shanghai, but in
partnership with Taiwanese franchise owner ­RT-Mart. It, too,
was shut on Monday while workers installed an air
conditioner.

The business model relies on a mixture of mobile phone
technology, facial recognition software, and a smattering of
personal accountability. Potential customers must first
register with the company using their real identity. Once
approved, they can enter by using their mobile phone camera
to scan a QR code at the door, sending the data over WeChat.
Inside, they choose the items they want, scan them at the
register and pay either through WeChat or Alipay. A camera
scans customers on the way out and anyone carrying items they
don not pay for is recorded in a company database.

Although the store operates without staff, customers can
contact an assistant through a video screen.

There are now altogether eight outlets in Shanghai and
Guangdong, offering snacks and daily necessities at prices 5
per cent lower than traditional convenience stores, China
National ­Radio quoted Wang Ying, BingoBox’s vice-president
of marketing, as saying.

Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post,
unveiled its unmanned Tao Cafe self-service store in
Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Saturday, while retail giant
Wahaha has pledged to open 100,000 staff-less convenience
stores with artificial intelligence within the next three
years.

Pan Fei, from RT-Mart’s business development department, said
the closure was due to problems with heat. "We will see how
people receive this and decide later if we will introduce
more," he said.

However, some residents are still skeptical about whether the
new wave of snack stores will be embraced. "This kind of
business model should rely on the personal credibility
system, which is still immature in China. So it’s very hard
to prevent theft," one internet user commented on Weibo.